We’ve done hoops, hockey, and football. But let’s not kid ourselves. The best nicknames in sports have always been reserved for baseball players, and the Phillies have had their share of great ones. So instead of doing a Top 10 like we did with the others, we’re gonna put together a full 25 man roster by position. Keep in mind, we’re going by best nicknames, not player stats, to pick our starters.

Catcher- Carlos Ruiz, aka “Chooch“. Got the nickname from Antonio Alfonseca, who called him Chucha once, which is a Columbian slang term for underarm odor. Sportswriters misunderstood what Alfonseca said, and referred to him as Chooch. His real nickname is Chucha.

First Base- Nelson “Chicken” Hawks. No idea how he got this great nickname. Not much info on this guy who played for the Phils for one season (1925).

2nd Base- Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson (picture, above). The best nickname in Phillies history if you ask me. It’s funny, because he only played for them for one year…1883, their inaugural season. He got the nickname for being so great defensively.

Shortstop- Larry “Gnat” Bowa. Got it for being so small and pesky.

Third Base-Willie “Pudd’nhead” Jones. Got the nickname as a kid from a song called “Woodenhead Pudd’nhead Jones”

Outfield- Lenny “Nails” Dykstra. Snopes claims he got the nickname not for being tough but for regularly using the word “nail” as a verb. If you catch our drift.

Outfield- Arnold “Shake ‘n’ Bake” McBride. No clue on this one.

Outfield- Shane “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Victorino. Who will ever forget his leap onto the pile after the Phils won the 2008 World Series?

PITCHERS

Steve “Bedrock” Bedrosian. Pretty obvious that the nickname came from Flintstones.

John “Brewery Jack” Taylor. Pitched for the Phils for 6 years in the 1890s. Wasn’t scared to throw back a cold one. Died of kidney disease possibly brought on by binge drinking.

Cole “Hollywood” Hamels. He supposedly got the nickname from Ryan Howard, who saw him wearing surfer shorts and flip flops when the two played minor league ball and gave him the name.

Brad “Lights Out” Lidge. Yeah, he’s playing out the string now, but we’ll never forget what he did in 2008, when he earned the “Lights Out” moniker.

Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams. The closest anyone has ever come to the character Charlie Sheen played in Major League, he truly earned the nickname.

Octavio “Cookie” Rojas. Actually, the nickname was Cuqui, a popular Cuban nickname, but it was anglicized to Cookie when he moved to the U.S

Dick “Crash” Allen. He wore a batting helmet while he played the field in Philly, so he wouldn’t be hit by the objects Phillies fans threw at him. He had the nickname “Crash Helmet”, which was shortened to “Crash”.

The “putt-putt” nickname was given to Ashburn by Willie Mays who said that he got from home to first so fast that he must have had a motor in his back pocket. I believe Richie stole 29 bases his rookie season and was never caught.

How did Bake Mcbride get his nickname: Bake’s real name is Arnold Ray McBride Jr. Arnold Ray Sr ran the kiln at the local brick plant in Fulton, MO (Harbison Walker). Bake was Sr’s nickname and Jr. grew up being called “little bake”. When he gre up he dropped the little and becam Bake McBride.